The Cobb County School District told Campbell Middle School families on Aug. 12 that a firearm confiscated from a student was "not used in any threat," but investigators later confirmed to reporters that a threat had in fact been made.

The contradiction surfaced after James Wilson, whose 12-year-old son attends the Smyrna school, told 11Alive his son's account directly clashed with what the school sent home. Wilson said his son called him from the counselor's office to report that a classmate had shown him a gun and later threatened to shoot and kill him and another student.

"My son's testimony directly conflicted with what that letter said," Wilson told 11Alive.

In a separate interview with Atlanta News First, Wilson described the moment: his son was in fourth-period class when another seventh grader became upset, said "You know, I'll shoot you" and brandished the weapon. The boy and a friend immediately left and told an administrator.

A Cobb County School District Police Department officer confiscated the firearm and took the student into custody the same day. Principal LaEla Mitchell's letter to families stated the gun was not used in any threat against students, staff or the campus.

When 11Alive asked the district why the letter omitted the alleged threat, the district's public information officer said police and administrators were unaware of it at the time. Investigators have since learned a threat was made, the PIO confirmed.

A district spokesperson offered a fuller explanation to the Marietta Daily Journal: "With any investigation, things change, and we had initial information that did not indicate that there was a threat made."

The district said the suspected student has been charged and will face "the full range of legal consequences." As of Aug. 13, the specific charges had not been confirmed publicly.

No one was physically hurt.

The district said there was no lockdown because the situation was resolved quickly. Wilson said his son does not want to return to school and that the children were hurt emotionally and spiritually. He called the incident a "wake-up call for the school system."

The incident occurred just over a week into the new school year, which began Aug. 4. The district does not use metal detectors at the middle school level. It deploys Vapor Wake dogs trained to detect firearms at every high school but has not expanded the program to middle schools. Superintendent Chris Ragsdale said at the start of the year that the district invests $35 million annually in student and staff safety.

Board of Education member Becky Sayler, who represents the school, said she was relieved by the outcome and grateful to the adults who acted quickly.

As we reported Aug. 12, the weapon was recovered and the student taken into custody. The investigation by Cobb County School District Police remains active.